Reconfigurable weblabs based on the IEEE1451 Std. Ricardo Costa - Gustavo Alves - Mário Zenha Rela - IEEE EDUCON’ April 2010 Madrid, Spain

Ricardo Costa /13 Presentation outline Introduction Laboratory work Laboratory environments Weblabs (Remote Labs) IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Introduction (1/3) Technology evolution Social changes People are adopting technology in their lives ! Higher education i) influence this trend ii) must encompass the technological evolution traditional principles replaced by emergent principles reaction of education to the new technological trends (new theories and learning methods) Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Introduction (2/3) Technology is lowering barriers for accessing information Interaction between people is increasing (more and easier collaboration) Network Learning: connections with people / information for learning support. Connectivism: information and students/teachers are seen as nodes > knowledge. new attitude towards learning (know-what > know-where) (epistemology > ontology) Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Introduction (3/3) Changes in the traditional in-classroom: i) extended, ii) partly replaced, or iii) entirely replaced. Internet and its associated services fulfill basic requirements: i) dissemination, ii) discussion, iii) discovery, iv) assessment, v) laboratory work. Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Laboratory Work Fundamental in S&E courses From: Soysal, O. A, “Computer Integrated Experimentation in Electrical Engineering Education Over Distance,” ASEE 2000 Annual Conference, Saint Louis, MO, Jun Preferred solution for learning in S&E courses Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Laboratory Environments … also named as WEBLABS They are a very important solution for conducting experimental/ laboratory work. Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Weblabs (Remote Labs) (1/2) Traditional weblab Current situation: remote laboratories follow specific and distinct technical implementations (several hardware and software architectures); no standard solution for creating remote laboratory infrastructures. Problems: collaboration among institutions is weak, because it is difficult the reuse and interface different instruments/modules (I&M) used by a specific experiment; some institutions do not apply weblabs in their courses because they don’t have the required technical skills; costs may be high, since creating a weblab infrastructure requires a PC and associated software, together with several instruments (eventually comprehending several futures not required in a specific experiment), and; an architecture based on a single PC poses constraints for running several experiments, requiring scheduling techniques. Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Weblabs (Remote Labs) (2/2) Traditional vs Reconfigurable weblabs architectures. Distributed architecture proposed for FPGA-based weblabs. IEEE Std. FPGA-based board Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Provides a common basis for members of the IEEE 1451 family of standards to be interoperable. It defines the functions that are to be performed by Transducer Interface Module (TIM) and the common characteristics for all devices that implement the TIM. It specifies the formats for TEDS. It defines a set of commands to facilitate the setup and control of the TIM as well as reading and writing the data used by the system. APIs are defined to facilitate communications with the TIM and with applications. IEEE Std. (1/2) IEEE Standard for a Smart Transducer Interface for Sensors and Actuators – Common Functions, Communication Protocols, and Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) Formats; Approved in 2007 Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 IEEE Std. (2/2) Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Conclusions Higher education must encompass the technological evolution; S&E courses require experimental work (theory alone is not enough); Currently, remote labs are well accepted in education, namely in S&E courses; by i) comparing different parameters and ii) analyzing related costs, remote labs are seen as good resources for S&E courses (a complement). But… there are specific and distinct technical implementations (no standard !); The proposed solution (adopting the IEEE Std.) will facilitate the standardization of a remote laboratory infrastructure: increases collaboration, reduces costs, simplifies developments, facilitates access managements, promotes better infrastructural stability, etc. Introduction Lab. work Lab. environments Weblabs IEEE Std. Conclusions

Ricardo Costa /13 Thanks for your attention ! Acknowledgments: